New M&P Shield Pistols Chambered in 9mm and .40 S&W Available Without Single-Sided Thumb Safety

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (June 5, 2014) — Smith & Wesson Corp. announced today that it is now offering versions of its popular M&P Shield™ pistol in both 9mm and .40 S&W without the single-sided thumb safety. Brought to market after numerous requests from private citizens, law enforcement professionals and firearm retailers, the new models retain original design features that have helped to solidify the M&P Shield’s reputation in the marketplace as a reliable, accurate self-defense firearm. Whether deployed as a backup sidearm for police personnel, a deep concealment pistol for plain-clothes officers or an every-day firearm for concealed carry permit holders, the M&P Shield has been met with wide approval.

At the core of the M&P Shield resides its slim, lightweight, high-strength polymer frame measuring .95-inches in width coupled with an unloaded weight of less than 19 ounces. Across the frame, the M&P Shield is standard with a 3.1 inch barrel that contributes to compact overall length of 6.1 inches. On the left side of the frame, the M&P Shield is fitted with familiar operational controls including a simple takedown lever, flat profile slide stop and magazine release. For optimal firearm control, the M&P Shield is standard with an 18-degree grip angle and a fixed textured backstrap with additional texturing at the forward portion of the grip. An extended trigger guard allows for operation of the pistol with or without gloves.

On top of the stainless-steel slide and barrel, the M&P Shield is standard with a 5.3-inch sight radius along with a white dot stainless-steel front sight and a white two-dot stainless-steel rear sight. For consistent and accurate shot placement, the pistol features a short, consistent trigger pull measuring 6.5 pounds that has been further enhanced with a quick and audible reset made possible by the striker-fired action.

Internal features of the new M&P Shield mirror the standard M&P Series. Its stainless-steel internal chassis reduces flex while providing a stable shooting platform and its low-bore axis helps maintain ease-of-use and a comfortable feel. A passive trigger safety prevents the pistol from firing if dropped and a sear release lever eliminates the need to press the trigger in order to disassemble the firearm. A loaded chamber indicator is located on top of the barrel. The M&P Shield is shipped with both an extended and flat magazine offering consumers the ability to customize the length of the grip. The 9mm M&P Shield offers an 8+1 or 7+1 magazine capacity while the .40 S&W M&P Shield is standard with either a 7+1 or 6+1 magazine capacity. Both the 9mm and .40 S&W M&P Shield carry an MSRP of $449 and are backed by Smith & Wesson’s Lifetime Service policy. State compliant models of the M&P Shield with no thumb safety are also available.

For more information on the new M&P Shield pistols without a thumb safety visit www.smith-wesson.com.

About Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Holding Corporation (NASDAQ Global Select: SWHC) is a U.S.-based leader in firearm manufacturing and design, delivering a broad portfolio of quality firearms, related products and training to the consumer, law enforcement, and military markets. The company’s brands include Smith & Wesson®, M&P® and Thompson/Center Arms™. Smith & Wesson facilities are located in Massachusetts and Maine. For more information on Smith & Wesson, call (800) 331-0852 or log on to www.smith-wesson.com.

Have had a 40 Shield over a year now, don’t really see what the issue with the safety. It’s not like it is obtrusive (for me anyway) like a 1911 safety, if you don’t want it, don’t use it. It is certainly reliable, quite accurate and nice and thin for conceal carry. The only issue I’ve had, one of the rear sight dots came out. Two emails and S&W sent me out a knew one, though it took a few weeks to get. I will admit though, it is nice to see them listening to their customers and making available different options.

As a lefty, I clicked the little thumb safety off before I took I left the gun shop and never turned it back on. It’s amazing how much cleaner it looks without the safety.

I always thought the manual safety was caused by an engineer at S&W making a joke that went over the heads of the marketing guys. I was waiting for them to announce the next gen Shield would include a mag safety, grip safety, an integrated lock and a breathalyzer.

Hey awesome! Now if they would just apply that same line of common sense to their entire revolver line!

I’m not saying they have do do away with the ILS altogether, but giving consumers a choice of whether they want it or not would be nice on all their revolvers. Don’t tell me they can’t make two versions of the same gun, one with and one without the ILS. They offer two lines of their 642 and 442 so obviously they now how not to run extra machining processes.

There are between 5 and 8 new S&W revolvers is buy if they would give me the option not to have the ILS.